After losing Cordarrelle Patterson and Charles Johnson, the Minnesota Vikings rewarded a key member of their wide receiver corps with a new contract.
Restricted free agent Adam Thielen has agreed to terms on a three-year extension, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported. The new deal is worth a maximum of $27 million over three years, with a base value of $17 million and $11 million guaranteed, Garafolo added. The wideout was slated to make $2.7 million based on his restricted free agent tender.
Undrafted out of tiny Minnesota State Mankato, Thielen enjoyed a breakout 2016 season, edging out Stefon Diggs for the team lead with 967 receiving yards.
He pulled off a convincing Jordy Nelson impression with a career game in Week 16, burning the Packers secondary for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 receptions.
One of the league's most efficient deep threats with an accurate Sam Bradford pulling the trigger, Thielen led all wideouts with a 70.4 catch rate on deep targets.
Entering his fourth NFL season, Thielen had clearly earned a significant bump on last year's $600,000 salary.
